Top 10 Composition Rules

1. Place your main centre of interest on one of the four points created by the Rule of Thirds.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Follow the Rule of Thirds and place the horizon line one-third of the way up from the bottom of the image in a landscape photo that contains a strong sky.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Follow the Rule of Thirds and place the horizon line one-third of the way down from the top of the image in a landscape photo that contains a strong, eye-catching foreground.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Give a picture three-dimensional depth by including a curved path such as a river, road or railway that leads the viewer’s eye into the picture. If the curve is in the shape of the letter S, even better.
   
   
5. Place repeated elements within an image to give unity to a composition.
   
   
6. Use diagonal lines for a strong composition.
   
   
7. Try to have the main elements of an image form a triangle, or imply a triangle. A base-down triangle is the most stable design.
   
   
8. Incorporate contrasting colours within the image for a strong visual effect. The standard complementary pairs are red-cyan, green-magenta and blue-yellow.
   
   
9. Aim for visual balance within an image. Sometimes, the space within the photo where all the tones are uniform — known as negative space — can be an element that helps to achieve apparent symmetry.
   
   
10. Shoot with cropping in mind.